Plantation Three Stars White Rum

Everything started with a grass, commonly named sugarcane…

Never yet have i been dissappointed with any of the Plantation rums and here is a new star of the show – Plantation Three Stars White Rum.

“In a Portfolio of Aged Rums, Plantation 3 Stars Demonstrates Cognac Ferrand’s Blending Mastery, Expertly Marrying the Best Rums from Barbados, Trinidad and Jamaica”

I can´t praise this rum enough…it´s one of the best whites i ever had and i mean it. To cut the crap and all the blahblah – if you want a good white rum that is flavorful and yet got kick, can be both mixed and sipped – you got it right here – and it makes daquiris to die for…

Chateau de Bonbonnet, Ars, France (April 2012) – The spirit masters at Cognac Ferrand, producers of the award-winning Plantation Rum portfolio, have their own special twist on rums: cherry picking the very best aged rums from around the Caribbean and Latin America and bringing them to Cognac to be refined for a second aging in their own Cognac barrels, a technique only performed by Ferrand.

Now, for the first time ever, Plantation Rum introduces its first white rum – Plantation 3 Stars, named in honor of the three rum-producing stars of the Caribbean from which Plantation 3 Stars is crafted: Barbados, Trinidad and Jamaica. Launching in September 2012, Plantation 3 Stars (41.2% ABV) will retail for approximately $24.99 for a 1 liter bottle.

For Plantation 3 Stars, Gabriel decided to use a 3-year aged Trinidad rum, carbon filtered to maintain its white color and to remove the heavier tannins while preserving the aromatics developed and refined by aging. Un-aged rums from Barbados and Jamaica are blended, along with a 12 year old rum from Jamaica. The Jamaican rum is an expensive ingredient but key to the taste of the overall blend.”

The white rum category is a competitive market cornered by huge corporations. Gabriel notes, “We are a small artisanal spirit producer so from a marketing perspective this product makes no sense.

But on the other hand, we felt that we had it in us to create a hell of a white rum and could not resist the creative urge. We really worked long and hard at it and the process was exciting for everyone at Ferrand. We hope Plantation 3 Stars makes people’s taste buds dance! After all, the work we do is for great pleasure – that’s what we’re all about.”

The three stars:

Barbados – Good rums from Barbados are well rounded with subtle sugar cane and sweet tropical fruit notes and light banana-type aroma.

Trinidad – Lighter bodied and stylish style rums due to mainly column still use, with delicate notes of citrus and gentle spices with a touch of vanilla.

Jamaica – if Trinidad rums are more light bodied and refined – Jamaican rums are the opposite with heavy and full-bodied aromas of sugarcane, bananas and tropical fruits.

And here`s what i think:

On the nose – This rum has notes of tropical fruits, banana and sugarcane, the nose is light and VERY pleasant…i wanna dip my nose into that bottle and just sit with it!

On the palate – An explosion of flavors of fruits, sugarcane and a lingering vanilla finish. it got some kick too with a very pleasant burn – not in a bad way at all. This is good…really good.

The bottle – Gorgeous! it has a lot of “old rum feel” to it and the label that is wrapped around the entire bottle telling about this rum and rum history is really cool. They have really made it right here!

The rum itself has a that beautiful golden hue which i just love…

It´s made for mixing though even if it sips just fine and to start with i made a few daiquiris and this rum really does make some badass daiquiris! i could just continue to drink one after another..

Also i made a rum punch and my somewhat tikified version of a cocktail called Old St Tropez plus a rum sour, here are the recipes:

THREE STAR DAIQUIRI

2 oz Plantation Three Star, 0.5 oz fresh lime juice, o.5 oz sugarcane syrup

Shake with ice and serve in a chilled cocktail coupe – if you want you may garnish with a golden sugar rim.

It´s a daiquiri to die for..

AINSLEY´S MOMS CARIBBEAN RUM PUNCH – Makes about 16 drinks

3/4 cup ( 175g) brown sugar
3/4 cup (175ml) boiling water
1 tsp angostura bitters
juice of 4 limes and 4 lemons
2/3 cup (150 ml) strawberry syrup
14 oz (400 ml) canned mango pulp – (i used pineapple juice instead)
4 cups (1 liter) tropical fruit juice
1-1.5 cups (250-300ml) white rum
4 cups (1 liter) lemonade or sparkling mineral water
Plenty of ice – i used cracked ice
Quartered lime and orange slices for garnish

Stir the sugar and water together until the sugar has dissolved and leave to cool – or use a simple sugarcane syrup.

Mix the syrup with the lime and lemon juices, angostura bitters, pineapple juice or mango pulp, strawberry syrup and rum and stir together until well mixed. Set aside and chill until ready to serve.

Stir in the fruit juice and lemonade and serve with plenty of cubed or cracked ice. Garnish with lime and orange slices or add a sprig of mint and a cinnamon stick if you make just one or two drinks.

This is an old style Jamaican rum punch and it´s a comfort drink, fruity, rummy and if you grate some fresh nutmeg and dust over it it becomes even better.

I like these kinds of caribbean rum punches and they can be varied a lot, add some spices to the mix with the boling water and let it soak for a while to add some extra depth and spiciness, also pimento dram is good for that.

PLANTATION RUM SOUR

1.5 oz Plantation Three Star
.75 oz fresh lime juice
.5 oz sugarcane syrup
2 dash chocolate bitters (Mozart)
1 egg white

Shake hard and long with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail coupe. Garnish with an orange twist. I would say this gives the word delicious a new meaning…

OLDE ST TROPEZ #2

2 oz Plantation Three Star
.5 oz light muscovado sugar syrup
.5 oz fresh lime
1 oz fresh orange juice
1 drop orange blossom water
2 drops absinthe
a couple dashes angostura bitters on top of the ice

Shake together and strain into a rocks glass filled with finely crushed ice and add a couple dashes angostura bitters on top of the ice and garnish with an orange peel and mint sprig.

Plantation Three Star isn´t out in the shops yet so keep an eye out…should be out sometimes in the fall i believe. Here`s the links to Cognac Ferrand and Plantation rums websites.